Excerpts from past Tracy newspapers
Aug. 16, 1956 — The new Red Rooster cafe and service station will hold its grand opening Friday and Saturday of this week, Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Smarzik announced. Twenty-five free prizes are offered to registrants at the service station both days, and free candy and balloons will be given to children accompanied by parents during the grand opening in the building that seats more than 90, and is equipped with latest equipment and furnishings — and it’s air-conditioned. The kitchen, likewise, has all the latest equipment for food preparation. The new Red Rooster also provides bunk beds for transient truckers at rear of the station and ample parking surrounds the new Highway 14 establishment. The new cafe and dining room, A 20-ft. lighted red rooster sign dominates the rooftop.
Obituaries: Mrs. H. Lovald, Mrs. A.T. Venard
Aug. 18, 1966 — Two big C&NW diesel engines derailed Sunday afternoon in the far east end of Tracy yards but neither tipped, no one was injured, and service was interrupted for not too long and without great inconvenience. The derailment occurred about 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon near the Wardell bridge east of this city. The engines at the time were backing up to pick up the rear end of the train. The train, an extra grain freight, was preparing to move out eastward when the engines, for no explainable reason, slipped off the rails but fortunately did not tip.
Obituaries: Dennis DeMarce, Pearl Hudson, Bryce Miller, Henry Johnson
Aug. 12, 1976 — The Exxon Twine Plant in Tracy, where there has been little or no activity past several months, will be closed permanently according to Dr. Francis Robinson, president of Tracy Enterprises Inc. “Due to the continuation of the very bad market situation, our continued high inventory position and little encouragement for a strong recovery. In 1977, we have reluctantly decided to permanently close our Tracy manufacturing operation,” said J.L. Truslow, vice-president of Exxon’s fabricated Products Dept., in a recent letter to Robinson.
Obituaries: Blake Nehls, Inga Nelson, Irvin “Shorty” Cochran, Mrs. George Furan Aug. 20, 1986 — The search continues for a bone marrow donor for Twyla Anderson, a Tracy woman fighting a rare form of lukemia. To date, over 50 people from the area have been tested for bone morrow matches by the Red Cross in St. Paul. “We had 55 Tracy people try, as well as people from Redwood Falls, Lamberton, Sleepy Eye and Walnut Grove participate in this search,” stated Marge Ostgaard, who helped coordinate the effort. At this point, no match has been found, so the next step is to check at the Iowa City Bone Marrow Bank in Iowa.
Obituaries: Maurice Coyle, Marvin Mohr
Aug. 14, 1996 — The Tracy City Council is exploring the possibility of buying the DeSmet Weldors building at the corner of 6th and Hwy. 14. The council is looking for a building to replace the old city shop at the corner of South and Center Streets, scheduled to be torn down this fall. Once that building is demolished, the city will need a facility to store its road salt and provide cold-storage for a variety of city equipment. One option is to build a new metal pole building, at an estimated cost of $24,000 to $26,000. The second alternative is to rent or buy an existing building in Tracy.
Obituaries: Phillip Draayom, Marvin Drake, Wesley Carlson, Raymond Kremin, Donald Haag
2006 — N/A Aug. 17, 2016 — The Lyon County rodeo arena has been renamed the Second Chance Arena in honor of the late Gene Schrunk. Schrunk was a longtime member of the county rodeo committee. This year’s Barnes Rodeo was held with new “Second Chance Arena” signage behind the bucking chutes, with Schrunk’s silhouette next to the letters.
Obituaries: Darrell Snodgress, Cynthia Livingston, Bradley Hartman, Twyla Crouse, Opal Horsman, Dawn Ruppert
